


Party flavor

by cryingtoast



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: DUBCHAENG - Freeform, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Magic, They have fun, misana, sachaeng, saida, samo, slight misana, slight samo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 01:46:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19308136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryingtoast/pseuds/cryingtoast
Summary: What’s the similarity between magic and saying that the earth is flat ?Both are fake.At least, that’s what Sana thought, until she got proven wrong





	Party flavor

**Author's Note:**

> I really, really really like to put any member with dubchaeng in whatever plot i write, for some reason... it’s super fun ! I love these two so much kdnfjd they fit any situation, really ! cooking, and now…   
> I dedicate this to Mara, who’s been waiting since forever for a saida(mo)chaeng drawing - it’ll come, I promise *wink*  
> originally, this was named Walking on a dream, but eh. no. fuck you. bleh 
> 
> I listened a lot to Prom dress by mxmtoon as I wrote this, just to give you an idea of which mood I wanted to be in ^^ check it out ! her stuff is GREAT  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDPxVVyZzAY
> 
> Sorry for any mistakes in advance,   
> Enjoy 
> 
> toast

Rain.

Sana was getting tired of it. Who really liked rain, anyway ? it sucks, you can’t walk out without risking to get splashed by a random car, everything smells weird, she couldn’t go for her evening run, and the sound of the rain drops hitting her roof windows was getting too repetitive. 

She liked the sun beyond anything else - its warmth on your skin, how everything seems to glow under it, the happy shouts of children she could hear when her windows were open since they could play outside. If she could photosynthesis like a plant, it would be awesome ! no need to buy food or whatever. Just laying on the floor under the blue sky and blazing sun. How nice. 

But here she was, hands clenched around her umbrella, waiting outside for a bus that wasn’t coming. She had been waiting for over half an hour and beginning to lose hope that it would actually come. An uneasy feeling of being watched had also crept up her back a few minutes ago, and she was starting to worry something… bad was about to happen. 

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she stopped fidgeting for a second to check what was up - she grunted as the logo of her transport app appeared, telling her that no more buses would come for the next two hours. Then walking ? she didn’t live close, and this neighborhood gave her the creeps. 

Why was she here anyway ? oh, right - her co-worker said he had a good deal to make money fast, but she got rejected because, well. Apparently because girls aren’t fit to sell drugs ? maybe it was for the best. He said he could cover her in case the police got involved, but you never know. She would avoid telling Momo about this during dinner…   
Drugs, uh. A new type, from what the thug had told her, works like magic. 

As Sana began to power walk to her flat, she wondered how pills could work like magic if such thing didn’t exist. She had seen and read numerous stories about magical stuff, and none of it was real - she never got a letter to Hogwarts when she was 11, never controlled water or managed to become invisible. Never managed to make things fly or met people like Amaterasu, goddess of the sun, or even Zeus, with his roaring thunder, you know, those kind of people. 

Then, was magic more about happiness ? these colorful pills did nothing but make you terribly happy for a few hours, a bit like love, giving joy to your brain like nothing else could ever and then get you addicted. Everyone runs after happiness. That’s why it hurts when it’s gone, when you get your heart broken or when the ‘magic’ pills effect fades away. Magic is supposed to be fun, incredible, life-lasting, not just some kind of experience that will end up hurting you. 

So no. magic doesn’t exist, and these pills were nothing but death ahead. She wanted money, but preferably not that way. 

She rubbed her face as she stopped at a crosswalk. Back into the busy heart of Tokyo, she felt safer, even though she was still feeling eyes stuck at the back of her skull. It wasn’t as disturbing this time, since she was surrounded by busy people going back home or to work. It was always too crowded after 6pm anyway. 

Someone bumped into her, and she only caught a glimpse of blue hair when she apologized, a huff leaving her lips as the bustling person didn’t pay mind to her and continued rushing away. Sana wrapped a finger around a lock of hair when she stopped to let cars go again. Maybe she could dye hers, too. What about blonde ? mayhaps something even better, like orange ? any vibrant color would be good. She felt that it might bring the sun back, after a week full of rain. 

It wasn’t feeling like June at all. 

Her eyes landed on one of these neon characters that were popping from every angle in the street a few meters away, and she texted Momo to tell her that she wouldn’t eat at home today, no need to wait, I'm stopping by a restaurant I haven’t been to in a while (she received 3 angry emojis in return, but she knew her roommate didn’t mean them too seriously). 

But when she looked up from her phone, she found herself in a street that she had never seen before. Did she take a wrong turn ? impossible, she knew the area perfectly and none of this was familiar. The restaurant was gone, the walls on either side of her figure were black, dirty, a few windows were lit up but no sign of life. She turned back around and squealed when her face almost hit a wall. 

“Huh ?” 

Sana carefully placed her hand on the wall, trying to understand if it was really there or not. Her palm hit a cold surface, and she shivered. It was really there. How ? she had just turned around this corner, this was impossible. Was she hallucinating ? had they drugged her during the 5 minutes she stayed with the dealers ? no freaking way. 

A loud crash startled her, and she lowered her umbrella, closing it, pointing it front as if she had a powerful weapon in hand before slowly turning around. No one was there, but the place somehow felt more welcoming. It wasn’t raining anymore, the air felt a bit warmer, and more light was pouring in. 

She awed when she realized where it was coming from : a store had opened. It was clearly suspicious, since she didn’t recall seeing it a few minutes ago, but its aura was pulling her in, and she let her feet take her closer. It didn’t look out of the ordinary ; the front was painted yellow, bold blue letters told her she had found The Kappa - which, again, wasn’t that reassuring when you knew what a kappa could do in japanese mythology. But she pushed the door open anyway, and stepped in. 

A little bell rang above her head - she whispered a little ‘excuse me’ as she scrubbed her shoes on the mat, just to show her presence a bit more. 

A strong smell filled her nostrils, and it seemed like she had just entered a soap store - it was a mix of different things she couldn't quite place names on yet, but it smelled good. She let her wet umbrella rest against the entrance wall and looked around. 

The inside of the shop was very colorful, and she couldn’t really tell what it was selling precisely. Various objects were exposed on the shelves, from bottles with bright blue or red sticky looking liquids, to boxes decorated with precious stones, to food, even, sugar coated rainbow biscuits and packed candies she couldn't understand the name of since it was written in a language she didn't know of. 

An article was even called ‘wand’ and she scoffed. It looked like nothing more than a wooden stick to her, no craving, nothing particular to it. She reached an area named ‘Spells’ and her eyebrows furrowed. Lots of tiny boxes were piled up, each with a name tag, and she was getting more and more confused as she read To fly, To breathe fire, To turn into a bear, numerous ridiculous tags she didn’t understand were real at all. Nothing here made sense. 

Either someone crazy had decided to turn their chemistry experiments into funny accessories, children toys, halloween merch and goodies, or - 

“Hello, hello ! welcome to The Kappa, the only place you never expect to find ! how may I help you ?” Sana gasped as an airy, cheerful voice reached her and a soft breath tickled her ear - she looked right, but no one was their - left ? empty, she was alone ! 

“Up !” the voice added, and Sana did as she was told. Her eyes widened as she finally met the owner of the store. 

A girl was sitting cross legged, wide grin on her face, bright, pink hair framing cheeks and tear shaped eyes. Nothing out of the ordinary, right ? until it fully it Sana that the girl was floating, literally being able to sit in the air. She couldn’t do more than gape like a fish at the sight, and pinched herself - no, that was really happening. Nothing was hanging from the cellar to keep her that high, and Sana could see her move around now, flying from shelf to shelf. 

The girl blinked, smile still spread, her fingers playing with her shiny silver earrings, her eyes looking at Sana up and down. 

“Cat got your tongue ?” the stranger hummed and lowered herself, her feet not touching the floor just yet but enough for Sana to not break her neck looking up too long. “I sure hope not. She can be sneaky but she’s not a bad furball. Have you seen her when you came in ?”

Sana only shook her head, feeling herself getting lost in the shop owner’s stare. Her eyes had a weird glint that she would usually call mischief-like, but the word Magic was sitting at the tip of her tongue. 

“My name is Chaeyoung, nice to meet you ! it’s been a while since we got to see a new face.” Sana slightly opened her lips. “Oh no, no ! don’t tell me your name just yet ! you have to sign the contract before I get to do anything with, uh, I mean, for you. Don’t worry, it’s nothing…” 

Chaeyoung leaned forward, their foreheads now touching - Sana felt paralized, but not by fear, that was sure, by something else that she, once again, didn’t manage to understand yet. It felt like electricity was running through her veins. 

“...dangerous.” the last word came into a whisper. 

The bell from the entrance rang, breaking the weird moment - Sana didn’t know if she was glad about it, or if she would have liked to stare into Chaeyoung’s eyes more. She didn’t get to think much about it, as the pink haired girl vanished in a thin layer of smoke and someone else spoke up. 

“Hey, chaeng, don’t make her run out of here, I had enough trouble finding someone already. Don’t blow everything up again, please.” a patch of blue hair popped up into Sana’s vision field, and she realized it was no other than the person she had bumped into earlier. “Oh, she’s gone ? that little devil.” 

The newcomer snapped her fingers, and Sana heard a loud thud, a whimper and a curse word from somewhere across the shop. 

“No flying inside, thank you. And hi, I’m Dahyun, I own this place with the dwarf you just met. I hope she didn’t bother you too much.” 

“We’re the same height !”

“Shut up !” 

Sana looked down at the extended hand in front of her as the two friends bickered - she lifted hers, nervousness making its way through her body for whatever reason, but Dahyun moved her hand away just as they were about to touch. 

“Ah, no, no contract yet, can’t touch you.”

“But Chaeyoung -” 

“She speaks !” Chaeyoung laughed as she joined them again, Dahyun not hesitating to slap her arm as she passed past her. “You hadn’t said anything much since you came in, I was afraid you ate a magical forbidden cookie, or something. Thank the High priestess you’re a reasonable person !”

Dahyun rolled her eyes, and gestured for Sana to follow her. The japanese girl did as she was told, and followed the duo as they led her to a door in the back, near the register. Her eyes stopped for a moment on the flyers on the wall - lessons about flying, how to turn a pig into a cat, dragon caretaker notice, something about someone being stuck between two dimensions and needing help. 

She sighed, feeling a bit overwhelmed but never asking herself why she wasn’t scared of following 2 strangers to the back room of a shop that was turning more and more into a crazy fair attraction. 

They were waiting for her, already sat behind a table, Dahyun trying to look serious but failing, from her point of view, and Chaeyoung - Sana could see she was floating a bit above her chair, and she still had a happy smug on. 

“Alright. If you’re here, it’s for a reason. There are 3 different paths you could have taken for me to choose you : either you wished for that meeting, and knew about this place, or you strongly don’t believe in and despise magic, or… you’re dead and this is the afterlife.” 

“Dahyun !” 

“sorry, I got carried away, that last reason isn’t true. Though, I bet you’re here for the second one. You were radiating bad, bad energy when I found you..! A lot of people were, but you had this nasty cloud above your head… it’s gone now. Good.” 

Dahyun looked satisfied with herself, and Chaeyoung just glanced at her. Sana waved her hand above her head, earning a snicker from the two girls sitting in front of her, and she sulked a bit. 

“Now, for the important part. This place is all about magic. You might not believe us yet, but you’ve seen chaeyoung fly, and this shop probably appeared out of nowhere in front of you.” Sana nodded. “We’re here to work with you on 2 points : first, make you fully, wholeheartedly believe in magic ; second, help you, for anything and everything. Money, luck, love, whatever. We just don’t deal with death.” 

“Welcome to Kappa ! making all your dreams come true !” chaeyoung giggled, floating a bit higher as she did, bringing a reassured smile to Sana’s face. 

“But, hm, it means there’s a twist, right ?”

“Oh, she’s smart !” Chaeyoung clapped her hands. “Of course, there is, but it’s more about us than about you. It’ll depend on how you use our powers. But, we’re not demons. We’re here because we got, uh, asked to ? something like that, we can’t share much info, but I promise we won’t steal your soul.”

Sana reached for the pen on the table as Dahyun slide an important looking paper in front of her. She played a bit with it, reading the few paragraphs carefully, still a bit unsure about signing it. She knew what she was getting into, she had read enough scenarios like that. But the last line, written in thick characters, told her that she could break the contract anytime she wanted. 

And this was enough to convince her. She let the tip of the pen slide across the paper, leaving her precious signature, ready for something to happen once she was done - fireworks, flames appearing under her feet, anything. But. silence was all she got. She looked back up to see 2 satisfied looking girls, and she felt as confused as before. 

“One thing is missing.” chaeyoung said with a soft voice. “Your name.” the sparkle in her eyes was back. How pretty. 

“My name is Sana. Minatozaki Sana.” she meant to say it confidently, but her voice trembled. 

“Sana.” the two women said at the same time, and now, something did happen. She felt like her wrists were suddenly burning, like fire was encircling them, but it didn’t hurt, it was incredibly warm, and light burst through the floor, illuminating her before her chair started to float. Lashes of light were surrounding her arms, before wrapping themselves around where her wrists seemed to burn - then a flash, forcing her to close her eyes, and she felt the chair drop down. 

She carefully opened her eyes up, blinking a few times before lifting her arms in front of her face ; two golden circles had appeared around her wrists, glowing, tattooed on her skin. She ran her fingers on them, curious. 

“These are used for you to call us. If you run your fingers on them while we’re not with you, we’ll appear. Chaeyoung on the right, I’m on the left. We’re available all the time. And don’t worry, no one else than you and people aware about magic can see them. Nothing to worry about.”

Sana didn’t really know what to say. She had a lot of questions, but felt unsure about asking them. She was struggling to clear her mind when a hand reached for hers ; Chaeyoung was crouched down next to her, her hands now wrapped around hers. 

“It’s alright, take your time with this whole situation. We’re not going anywhere, not letting you down, I promise. We can’t. So, call one of us later this week if you have questions - no need to rush.” Chaeyoung gave her a warm smile, and Sana watched as a dimple appeared on the girl’s cheek, feeling herself calm down. 

“Thank you.” it was two simple words, but she meant them. 

After that strange meeting and confusing events, Sana went back home. Dahyun gave her a lollipop on her way out, saying she had to try it later this evening and tell them about it the next time they met. It was a special candy. 

The second she stepped out, the shop vanished and the street with it. She was back into the real world, the one she knew about. She felt something brush against her leg, and looked down to see a white cat with the greenest eyes she had ever seen - it meowed before purring as she reached down to pet its head, and walked away as quickly as it had appeared when a car honked not far away. 

Sana supposed it was the magic duo’s cat. 

She threw herself on her bed the second she got to her apartment, just barely saying hi to Momo and adding that she was tired - enough to go to sleep without eating, the lollipop abandoned on her bed table. As her head melted into the pillow, she wondered if all this was a dream. It probably was - magic ? real ? in what world..?

She took a last glance at the golden circle on wrist, convinced that it would be gone the next morning. Or once she would wake up… this was too crazy. Too crazy. Maybe that was just a drug shop and everything in it made her dizzy ? who knew. She would have to ask her co worker tomorrow. Tomorrow… 

\-- 

Sana had a routine, like most people do. She didn't find it boring, since something was always different, a little detail, an unimportant event that made every day special. 

First, getting up, after staying 5 more minutes under the covers - bathroom time, never forgetting to splash some fresh water on your face, then waking Momo up ; the girl was sometimes already up, and this morning, she was nowhere to be seen, or at least not in the bedroom. But Sana knew Momo had just gotten up early from the messy breakfast table in their kitchen. 

She heated what Momo had left for her, checking the weather while her plate was turning around in the microwave, leaning against the counter. Rain, again. She wasn’t surprised. She ate fast when she realized she was going to miss her bus and hurried through her closet, grabbing the most basic outfit she could, carefully brushed her teeth and stopped a second before leaving, shoes in hand. 

Was she forgetting something..? 

Something felt out of the ordinary, and said thing was stuck at the back of her mind but she couldn't recall what it was. She spent the bus ride trying to remember, and eventually gave up as her workplace came into view. She thanked the driver before jumping off, checking her watch and smiling as she entered the place right in time. 

“Good morning, Esumi-san !” She joyfully greeted the lady at the entrance desk, who simply waved back.

Sana loved coming to the school before her students : it was quiet, without all the noisy kids running around, screaming, doing whatever children do in the hallways. It gave the place an atmosphere that was very touching, sentimental, with kids’ drawings on the walls that added touch colorful touches and the high windows offering a welcoming light even when it was raining. 

She reached her own classroom and slide the door open, taking in the clean place with a satisfied hum. She opened the curtains and began to settle what was needed for the morning activities. 

Being a kindergarten teacher could be difficult, definitely exhausting, but she loved it ; she always learned things with her students, their happiness carrying her through the day, and as much as it had his downs (loud crying, fights and some eventual problems with the parents), it had many more ups. Giving up her job was not an option, and she was still wondering why she had went to that drug selling job her co-teacher had suggested in the first place… where was he, by the way ? 

She heard a knock, and chuckled as said man stepped inside. Was he a psychic, or something ? 

“Morning, Minatozaki. I heard you were refused the position ?”

“Yes, and for the best, I’m sure. You should be careful with who you’re friends with, Masuo. I wouldn’t want you to get kicked out by Myoui-sama because you do drugs…” 

“I don’t do drugs, they’re just, friends, ya know ? I used to help them when I was at Uni. easy money, they do a great job. But thank you for the concern, though ! does it mean-” 

“No, still not on board with going on a date with you, I thought I had told you enough times already.” Sana glared at him, hands going up to tie her hair into a ponytail. 

“My bad, my bad.”

The bell rang as he ended his sentence, and Sana waved as he left her classroom with a wink. Why was she friend was him, again ? he could be frustrating, but just thinking about the first time they met always brought a smile to her face. Would she even be there if he hadn’t ran into her at uni ? probably not. As infuriating as he could be, she was grateful for his presence. 

Kids shouting in the hallway brought her back into the present, and she poked her head out, smiling and greeting the students as they came in one by one. One of them tripped on their way, and Sana rushed to help, but no tears appeared on the little boy’s cheeks, and she complimented him for being brave as she whipped the bruise with water. 

The morning lessons went smoothly, and she even received a little gift from one of the girls who had gone on a trip with her family last weekend. The day took a turn when the hurt boy from earlier came to her before lunch break with a curious expression. 

“Miss, what are these yellow bracelets on your wrists ? Souta-kun sees them too.” another little boy joined them from his hiding spot behind the door, his hand reaching for his friend’s shirt when her got closer. 

“The what ?” Sana looked down to see 2 golden circles that had gone unnoticed to her the whole morning. Wait. was what happened in her dream real ? did she really meet people like Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and went to The Kappa ? most importantly, how could they see them ? 

“Auntie told me they were related to magic ! she has some too ! daddy doesn't believe her, and he doesn’t see them, but I’m sure magic is real ! did you know my aunt can do fire tricks ? she’s super cool ! can you, too ?” 

“Oh, not really, I don’t think so ?” her gaze kept shifting between the boys and her wrists. “It’s, new, so maybe we’ll talk about it later, okay ? it’s a secret between the 3 of us. Go eat, now. Hush !” 

They ran away with happy grins, Sana hearing them say their teacher was a witch, and that they were spies holding the biggest secret in the whole school. children..! 

Her discussion with Dahyun flashed in her mind - maybe calling them at school was not the best idea, but now that she was sure it was real, she knew what she had to ask. She spent the afternoon checking the clock a bit too often, her legs jumpy as the end of the day bell was getting closer. 

She hurried the children out without worrying them, got her stuff and slide her way out, stopping by the teachers’ lockers to get her shoes and coat - but a familiar voice calling her name stopped her dead in her tracks, hand on the door handle. 

Myoui Mina, no one else than the owner of most of the schools in the city, was waiting a few steps back, umbrella in hand and curiosity in her eyes. 

“Minatozaki-san, leaving us so early ? is there an important matter you need to take care of ? I need to speak to you, but it can wait.”

“Oh, no, it’s alright, I can stay a bit longer, Myoui-sama. Nothing bad, I hope ?”

“No… it’ll be quick, don’t worry. And drop the honorific, will you ?” 

The ‘quick’ easily turned into a dinner at a restaurant with her boss after 2 hours of chatting about anything but what the woman had wanted to tell her about - nothing more than the good feedback she had been getting about Sana from her fellow teachers and parents, the possibility of a better position, if she was ready. No, she had answered, teacher is fine, school headmaster would be a bit too much.   
Too bad. 

It seemed her and Mina had more in common that she had ever thought. The chairwoman would always appear quite cold and unreachable whenever they saw her, but it seemed a light shyness and introverted attitude was the only thing holding her back from having a closer relationship to her workers. Sana was glad to discover a new side of the woman they all were scared of. 

In between everything they talked about, Sana completely forgot about the golden circles and her strange meeting yesterday. She was enjoying herself a whole lot, and Mina shyly asking her if it would be ok to take piano lessons from her at the end of their dinner was the highlight of her day. Her ? teaching piano to the daughter of the owner of one of the biggest companies of Japan ? a dream, truly. 

She felt as if she was floating on a cloud when she made her way back home. Mina was a pretty woman, talented for sure, and it was an honor to spend time with her. Though, she realized she wasn’t that great at playing the piano, enough for children but not that much to be considered talented. 

The Kappa suddenly popped up in her mind, and she realized she could surely ask them for help… if they could own dragons and do magic, they could teach her how to play faster ! her hands reached for her left wrist as she sat down on a swing in an empty playground, legs slightly moving back and forth. She carefully rubbed the circle, expecting Dahyun to pop up in front of her. 

But the woman showed up casually a few meters away, calling her name. 

“Sana, what a pleasure to see you again. It’s late, though. Is there a problem ? your cheeks are all red. It’s pretty, but you look super bright from afar, a bit worrying, no ?” Dahyun laughed, sitting on the other swing, blue hair floating around as she began to use it. 

Truthfully, Sana didn’t know. Was it because of the fresh air of the night ? Spending the evening drinking with a woman like Mina ? Dahyun showing up like an angel ? 

“Ah, no, I’m alright.” her hands shifted around the ropes, the girl by her side getting higher and higher on the swing. “Thank you. I was wondering, you can do anything, right ?”

“Almost anything, yeah.” Dahyun shouted more than said against the wind. 

“Could you teach me how to play the piano better ?” 

Dahyun let the swing stop moving before answering. She looked at Sana with a funny expression, before laughing again, clearly mocking the other girl. 

“You’re funny..! People usually ask for crazy stuff, but you ? piano lessons ? that’s all ? I don't think you could find anything easier to do ! alright, let me check what I can propose to help.” still grinning, Dahyun unlocked her phone. “Hm, we have 2 very basics and easy solutions : one, a device to help you memorize anything you read or see immediately. That way, you can play a partition even if it’s only your first time seeing it - it’s an earring that you can easily take off. Second, magic gloves to play like a pro ! just take them off when you’re done.” 

Sana stared at the floor as she considered her two options. Both seemed pretty simple to use, and the only inconvenient would be losing them in-between her classes with Mina. 

“What do the earring look like ?”

Dahyun showed her a picture ; golden loop with a little red stone engraved on it. Pretty, not too luxurious. She smiled at the girl in front of her, nodding as she chose that option. 

“Perfect, then ! though, if you want something more… normal ? traditional ? I’m a piano player myself. Been practicing for years, it could be safer, but the earrings will surely be more efficient.”

“Thank you for the offer, Dahyun, but I don’t want to take more of your time. this is good enough.” 

“If you say so. when do you need it for ?”

Sana realized they hadn’t agreed on meetings yet, and told Dahyun that she would update her whenever she was sure about it. The blue haired girl asked if she needed anything else, and went away before disappearing behind a corner after Sana said that nothing more came into mind - for now. She stayed a bit longer on the swing, smiling to herself at how perfect her life was turning into. 

It reminded her that she still had to be careful. You never know what might happen. 

Momo was asleep when she got back to their apartment, and Sana realized it had been a while since she had spent quality time with her best friend. Tomorrow was saturday, surely she could make time for her. These last 2 days had just been a little bit too much for her to handle alone, and she asked herself if it was alright to tell someone else about The Kappa and its owners. She would have to check with them. 

She took a quick shower and made herself a hot chocolate before stepping out on their balcony - the clouds had gone away on her way home, and the sky looked pretty, with the light blasting full moon and the very few stars that were strong enough to fight against the lights of the city. 

She suddenly felt herself lounging for somebody else to be by her side, but waking up Momo wasn’t an option, she didn’t want to disturb anyone else with a phone call and she had already seen Dahyun today.   
She mindlessly brushed her right wrist, and the sweet scent of strawberries clouded her mind in an instant. 

“Sana, good evening.” she wrapped her hands around her cup a bit tighter as Chaeyoung leaned against the railing next to her, not looking at her just yet. “What’s up ?” 

Sana didn’t say anything, eyes focused on the street below, steam from her hot chocolate waving up in front of her eyes. She didn’t know why she was feeling lonely - she had a good day at school, spent a great evening with Mina, got to speak to Dahyun. But she somehow felt empty, as if the world gave her something and immediately took it back from here. 

“Are you feeling lonely, perhaps ?” damn, was everyone around her psychic or what ? “I think it’s quite normal. Magic just made its sneaky way into your life, and I’m sure we’ve overwhelmed you when you first came into the shop. I’m sorry. When you learn about something that’s beyond your control, you never know how to really take care of it. You haven’t asked us questions yet, I think that’s trapping you.” 

Sana finally looked at Chaeyoung, and froze for a second. The pink hair was gone, and instead, it looked like her hair had turned into fire flames, bright orange, longer, shining under the moonlight. She gaped, which was the second time that this happened with Chaeyoung. Embarrassing. 

“Oh, are you surprised about my hair ? funny, uh ? we got a new brand of candies that can change them instantly, so I've been going around with different ones every day. It’s very amusing, and the few humans I'm friends with are convinced I have a wig collection. Here.” 

Chaeyoung opened her palm, uncovering 3 wrapped candies, letting them slide onto Sana’s now open one. 

“Thank you..!” 

“It’s nothing. You just eat them like normal candies while thinking about which hairstyle you want, and it should change under 2 or 3 hours, since you're not used to it yet. I recommend taking them before going to sleep. The effects goes away after a week or so.”

“Can I take one now ?”

“Sure. but make sure to call me tomorrow, then, yeah ? I want to see you with your new color.” there it was again, the shine in her eyes. Who even was Chaeyoung ? Sana was convinced there was more than magic behind that pretty face. 

Sana quickly finished drinking her cup and let a candy slip in her mouth, tongue running around as she tasted it, haircut in mind. It popped a bit, like pop rocks, and she smiled. 

“Watermelon.”

“Nice.” Chaeyoung sat down, Sana following. “Shall we answer your questions, then ? I believe we have the whole night free, no work tomorrow, right ? shoot.”

This time, Sana was not hesitant.

First, is magic everywhere and does it have influence on this world ?   
No, not really. Only a few of you, normal humans, are aware about magic. Some of you have even written stories about it, some very precise, other a bit less. Children are the one who believe in magic the most, because their heart is still pure and most haven’t faced how horrifying the world can be yet. They admire anything and everything. if adults believe, then, either they can do magic, or they’re forever-dreamers, who think your world is beyond what you can actually see. 

You said, normal humans. Does it mean I'll never be able to do magic ?   
It depends on you. You do magic, in your own little way ! when you teach new, incredible things to your students, when you make your friends happy after a distressing event, when you do that one thing you’ve been struggling with for a while. It’s cliche, really, but magic comes from the heart. What we offer are sortileges, tricks, fighting items, they’re useful, but they don’t mean much. You can live without them. 

That’s very nice. But isn’t everything you do with your shop superficial then ?   
It is. We just give you the tools to… get better, like what you asked Dahyun, give you a sense of, power, I suppose. Truth is, we’re mostly here to make you happier. 

What if I don't need that ? being happier ? I was doing alright before you came.   
That’s true, but we never know. And you give us purpose. Dahyun and I don’t get to do much when we’re not helping anyone. We’re - how can I say that without revealing what I shouldn’t - We’re trapped in the shop, supposed to help people like you forever. So far, we like you a lot, and we expect fun times, so don’t let us down. 

I, I won’t… how does the contract end, though ?   
Well. Either you break it, or, more gruesome, you die, or we will, at some point, become completely useless to you, and we’ll disappear without you ever noticing. That’s how it usually goes. 

Sana stayed quiet after that last part. She felt better knowing about everything, but the tone of Chaeyoung’s voice as she last spoke up has sounded nothing but hurt. She scooted over, a bit closer to the petite girl, and slowly went for her hand, giving her the time to refuse the contact. 

But Chaeyoung let her, and she carefully wrapped her hand around the magician’s. Just like she had done for her back at the shop. 

“Can I ask you something, Sana ?” 

“Sure, what is it ?”

“What were you drinking earlier ? smelled pretty nice.” Sana stared at Chaeyoung for a moment, trying to understand if she was serious or not. Oh, pouty face. She was.

“Hm, hot cocoa. Ever heard of that ? milk with dust chocolate, heated. Not really fitting in June, but it brings warmth and comfort when you need it. I read it acts as if human warmth is close to you. I could make you some, one day. It’s easy.”

“I would love to ! chocolate sounds awesome.” 

“You’re weird. How do you not know about that ?” Sana grinned as she finally got to tease the other girl back.

“Shush. You’re quite weird yourself. Who goes on the balcony in the middle of the night to stare at the moon ? trying to be romantic and shit ? we’re not in a movie !” 

“Ah, leave me alone. I was starting to think you were actually nice. Turns out you’re really just a little devil, Dahyun was right.” 

Chaeyoung giggled along at the words, her hand wrapping a bit tighter around Sana’s - who didn’t feel lonely anymore. A thought, a simple one, crossed her mind as she watched Chaeyoung count the stars they could see ; were the two magicians feeling alone, too ? if they were trapped there… 

She didn’t want to ask now. She was feeling fine, Chaeyoung was happy. Maybe later. 

They stayed there a bit longer, until rustlelling from inside the apartment reached their ears. Sana didn’t even get to say goodbye as Chaeyoung disappeared yet again in thin smoke, leaving only a last giggle hanging in the air. 

“Sana ? you’re back, I was worried something had happened to you. Are you with someone ?” 

“Oh, no, I was just, appreciating the night a bit. I can’t sleep.” Sana stepped back in, closing the balcony door behind her. “Did I wake you, maybe ?”

“No, just needed the bathroom… come sleep with me, then ?” Momo reached for her arm with half closed eyes, still half asleep. “I feel like I haven’t seen you much lately.” 

“Sure. but I hope your plushies aren’t taking too much place, or else I’m afraid we’ll have to kick them out - they don’t even pay the rent.”

“You’re not funny…” Momo mumbled, mouth hidden by her sleeves as she rubbed her face. “also, why is your hair half pink ?”

“Is it ?” 

Sana turned around one last time before following Momo to her bedroom. She whispered a ‘goodbye’ as a wave of orange hair moved from behind the curtains, leaving sparkly dust as Chaeyoung seemed to fly away. 

\-- 

A dream about fluffy clouds, sun shaped candies and talking rabbits forced Sana awake as one of the rabbits exploded after eating a candy - rather brutal, when she had been singing with them a few moments ago, bouncing on purple mushy mushrooms without a care in the world. 

Blinking a few times, she realized Momo wasn’t near her, a wall of plushies separating them, a little bear between her arms. Her friend was still asleep, snoring lightly, peacefulness plastered on her sleeping face. Sana slowly rose, elbows pushing against the mattress, the dip making one of the dolls fall over - she mindlessly watched it fall, wincing when it hit the floor with a thud. 

It was late, Sana could tell. The blinds weren’t stopping light from pouring in at all, and it was getting hot in the room, a summer sun finally showing itself after the sky had been filled with clouds for the past days. 

She carefully got out of the room, cursing under her breath as she accidentally walked on the fallen doll, its tiny plastic eyes being a bit sharper than Sana remembered. 

11am. Their apartment was always facing the sun during the day, which could easily get annoying regarding heat in summer, especially since they were on the fourth floor, under the roof. Though, with how chill the air had been lately, it didn’t feel too hot just yet, and that was definitely appreciated.

Sana stopped by the bathroom, and smiled at her reflection in the mirror as she touched her now fully pink hair. It was pastel-like, fully dyed, with no trace of her previous brown hair. It somehow felt lighter with that color, but she didn’t quite remember thinking about that one in particular when she was with Chaeyoung. She didn’t mind it. The color was nice. 

She began to move around the kitchen, but decided to order food instead, not feeling like cooking at all, and threw herself on the couch, looking up places she and Momo could go to during the afternoon. There was the usual, aka their favorite café, the arcade, the mall… but Sana didn’t feel like lazing around this weekend - a new-found energy was pushing her to do something… bigger, and she hurried to wake Momo up as an idea crossed her mind. 

“Hey, girl, wake up. We’re going to the beach.” 

It was a funny thing to see Momo go from confused to overjoyed as she understood what Sana had just told her. They got only one luggage for the both of us, Momo throwing only 2 or 3 t-shirts, swimsuits, sweaters in case it got cold and towels as Sana got train tickets for the nearby Chiba prefecture, where the sea water was better than in the beaches close to Tokyo. It was simply a one or two hours trip, and finding a free hotel room at that time of the year wasn’t that difficult. 

Their food arrived just as they were finishing getting ready, and they happily ate as Momo talked about how great of an idea that was. 

“Say, would you…” Sana played with a piece of cucumber between her chopsticks as she thought about asking her best friend something a bit more complex. “Would you mind if I bought 2 other friends with us ? they’re new here, foreigners, they could enjoy that trip a lot.” 

“Sure ! you shouldn’t worry about asking me that, Satang. Plus, if they’re friends with you, they can only be great !” Momo gave her a bright smile. “Where are they from ?”

“Somewhere.. Close ? I don't know where exactly, but you could ask them. You can call them Dahyun and Chaeyoung, quite the special pair, but I’m sure you’ll love them.” Sana answered as she finished eating. “I just have to give them a call and we’ll be all set.” 

“Okay, you do that, I’ll clean the table.” Momo added in a happy tone, humming a tune as she started moving around in the kitchen. 

Sana didn’t know how she could contact the duo without making them appear around, calling them via the golden circles being her only option. She quietly left the apartment, careful to close the door behind her, and grabbed her wrists simultaneously. She did not expect the two girls to pop out of nowhere, being used to their quiet and normal way of reaching her, and almost screamed. 

“Good morning !” Dahyun clapped, seemingly happy to be by Sana’s side again. “What can we do for you today ? it’s the first time that you call us together.” 

“Hi ! Oh my, pink ! perfect, perfect, I’m glad nothing bad happened.” Chaeyoung chimed in, reaching for her hair, hand lightly brushing against Sana’s jaw as she did, which earned the short girl a laugh. 

“Morning.” the older (she assumed she was) girl gently grabbed Chaeyoung’s wrist, lowering her hand, feeling a bit distracted from what she was supposed to do. “I called you there because I want to invite you somewhere… My best friend and I decided to go to the beach for the weekend, I was wondering if you would like to come with us ?” 

Her question was met by silence and two pairs of googly eyes - for a moment, she thought she had said something wrong, but Dahyun leaned forward with a smile, and Chaeyoung began to float, something Sana assumed was a habit of hers when she was getting excited. 

“Serious ?” Dahyun asked in a light voice, eyes holding the same glee that Sana had previously seen in Chaeyoung’s. “You’re not messing with us ?” 

“Of course not. I believe we’re friends, the least I can do to thank the two of you is bring you some-” she couldn’t finish her sentence as Dahyun leaned closer, wrapping her arms around her with a squeal. 

“Thank you so much. We can’t go out with your approval.” Chaeyoung explained, tapping Dahyun’s head like a proud sister as the blue haired girl slowly began to let go of Sana. 

“Hey, Sana, is there someone else with you here ?”

The door behind them suddenly opened, Chaeyoung dropping immediately to the floor, and ended up facing a very confused-looking Momo who didn’t look like someone who was expecting guests, but quickly regained her composure. 

“Oh, here already ? can you guys teleport ?!” 

“Ye-” Chaeyoung was about to answer, but got cut by Sana hitting her back. “No, Sana had already asked us earlier this morning, and we were sure about coming with you two, so we were around when she called us. Nice to meet you, I’m Chaeyoung.” she quickly bowed, flashing a wide grin to Momo when she straightened up. 

“And I’m Dahyun - it’s an honor to meet someone as important as you to Sana. I hope we’ll enjoy our time together.” Another bow. 

“No honorifics needed with you two ? hm, my name is Hirai Momo, you can call me Momoring already,” she returned the bows. “Nickname given by our fellow friend standing dumbly over there.”

“Hey !” 

Chaeyoung and Momo shared a (..) look, leaving Sana wondering how two people could click so easily so fast. I mean, who was she to complain ? if they were to spend the weekend together, it was best that Dahyun and Chaeyoung hit up easily with her best friend. 

They decided to move after the introductions, the younger duo somehow having bags waiting for them at the entrance of the building - Sana wasn’t surprised at all, and Momo had been easily convinced back in front of their place, so everything was going smoothly. 

Dahyun got train tickets on their way to the station, adding another question to Sana’s still somehow there confusion about magic. Did their shop use the same money as they did in Japan ? or was it some kind of international magic money that could turn into whatever currency they needed ? she almost ran into a pothole, lost in thought, Dahyun tugging her arm right in time for her to miss it. 

“Thank you !” 

“No big deal. You know, you thank us an awful lot.” 

“...” Sana looked at Dahyun, trying to understand the furrowed eyebrows and worried look. “What else am I supposed to say ?”

“Nothing ? I told you, we’re here to work with you and protect you. If you thank us for everything we do, you’re just going to start saying it like a robot. No need to be so polite. It’ll lose its meaning and I don’t want that.”

“Well, I mean it every time, so no. Thank you, Dahyun.” The blue haired girl didn’t look like she wanted to talk more, and Sana’s focus shifted to the pair walking in front of them. 

It seemed Momo and Chaeyoung had known each other since forever - they were chatting loudly, hands moving around, Chaeyoung catching herself float a few times but reminding herself she shouldn't, Momo not even noticing. Them suddenly starting to dance around in the middle of the street, disturbing a couple and scaring a flock of birds away, but it seemed they had their own bubble and Dahyun and Sana didn’t exist anymore. 

The latter wanted to be happy about it, but something rather uncomfortable had settled in her chest the second Momo wrapped her arm around Chaeyoung’s. What, now ? was she getting jealous ? Chaeyoung was in no way hers, or, kinda was, considering the contract, but she didn’t have the right to feel like the orange haired girl could only do that with her. 

“Something’s the matter ?” D ahyun’s worried tone pulled her back on earth, and she realized she had been holding her breath, her jaw unclenching as she looked at her friend. “You seem tense.” 

“It’s nothing, I’m sorry. Been feeling a little bit stressed over work and… and Mina, I think. I need this trip, I know it’ll be good. Don’t worry.” she tried to give a convincing smile to Dahyun, who looked at her like she was seeing through her lies. “Anyway. You said you played the piano well ?”

This question seemed to rose something inside Dahyun, and Sana caught that glint she loved to see in her new friends’ eyes again. She gave genuine interest to what Dahyun was saying, acting like she was playing in the air as she explained some funny partition, why piano had been her only escape for a while, the fact that she loved to sing. 

“Like Chaeyoung said earlier, we can’t go out if we’re not requested to. We can bring anything we want inside, but something like a beach isn’t possible, so we got into music. We both know how to play, but I got into it more seriously - I love mastering new pieces, there’s barely a thing more satisfying than nailing a full partition for the first time ! of course, I don’t use magic, it’s more interesting to learn the normal way. Where would be the fun in being immediately good at it ?” 

“Then, should you teach me instead of me using the earring ?”

“If you don’t mind spending time with me.” 

“Of course not. I would love to learn more about you, Dahyun, trust me.” 

“Alright.” the word came into a whisper, but her expression showed how delighted she felt - Sana knew she had made a good decision. If Dahyun and Chaeyoung were going to stick around for a while, then she had to make them as high spirited as she was supposed to be. 

“Have you tried the lollipop I gave you yet ?”

“Oh, no, I completely forgot - is that a problem ?”

“No, don’t worry. Just, make sure to eat it, yeah ?” Sana nodded. 

Would it be too much to say that Sana felt invincible in that moment ? Dahyun seemed more relaxed than ever by her side, Chaeyoung had reassured her in the best way possible the previous night. Momo was enjoying herself, she would see Mina again. How refreshing. 

Maybe magic was all about happiness, after all. Maybe she had done it her whole life. 

She didn’t think about it more as they got into their train, Chaeyoung acting like a kid as she sat by the window, impressed by how the transportation worked. It was weird, to learn that people who knew and used a thing called magic could get so impressed by human technology. Dahyun had to keep a hand on Chaeyoung’s leg just to make sure that she wasn’t going to fly up in the train, and it made Sana giggle a few times. Momo fell asleep on her shoulder, and the trip went on without much trouble. 

Chaeyoung gasped when the sea came into view, a shiny blue line under the darker shade of the sky - Dahyun didn’t stop herself from sticking her face to the window either, smiling wider as Chaeyoung said that her hair was the same color as the scenery. Sana took the opportunity to take her phone away, discreetly flashing a picture of the excited duo, followed by a selfie with a sleeping Momo. 

They picked the first nice looking hotel they could find when they got dropped off, left their luggage in the lobby and there was no stopping the magic pair from running in the sand the second they got back out. Momo still felt a bit too groggy to run, and kept close to Sana, who laughed wholeheartedly when the two idiots running in front of her had to dash faster as the hot sand burned their feet. 

A coastguard shouted to be careful while entering the water, since it was still cold at this time and because of the rain, which resulted in more squealing from the two and a vicious grin from Sana, who settled on the sand with Momo, laying down towels. 

They weren’t alone, families getting the same idea as them, couples, friends. The atmosphere was cheerful, everyone around finally getting a taste of summer. Sana had no trouble spotting her two idiots, blue and orange hair being quite uncommon here. She watched as Chaeyoung pushed Dahyun in the water, but the girl magically appeared behind her, launching herself forward - Chaeyoung ending up on all fours in the water, orange hair getting splashed by a wave. 

“What are you thinking about ?” 

A sleepy voice pulled her out of the scene, and she looked down at Momo. 

“Nothing. Just glad I invited them. They look thrilled.”

“You do, too. It’s good. I was afraid you were pushing yourself too much for your class, I know how difficult kids can be...” she began to draw circles in the sand. “Though, I’m sure you would tell me if something was going on.”

“Obviously. Hm, Myoui-sama did ask me if I wanted to become headmaster of my kindergarten school -” 

“No way, the Myoui ? as in, Mina ? Daughter of Myoui and co ?” 

“Yes !” Sana laughed and told everything to Momo, who scolded her for not accepting the position but feeling somehow proud that her best friend was making relationship with important people. “Oh, she’s as normal as you and me.” 

“Then why not invite her over next week ?” 

Sana pondered for a moment. Wouldn’t it be unprofessional ? maybe she could invite Masuo too, just to make it a bit more work centered… were they close enough for that yet ? surely Mina would be busy anyway. 

“Ah, but I don’t even have her number !”

“Use her professional one, dumbass. You can find it everywhere. And don’t you dare say she won’t answer - just stating your name should work.” Momo gave her a wink before whispering, “I saw that in movies.”

“You’re the dumbass.” Sana said as she hit her bare back with a water bottle. 

“Cold !” 

A slightly wicked thought flashed across her mind, for a second only, before fading away as quickly as it came - could Dahyun and Chaeyoung have access to things as personal as phone numbers and other private info..? 

An inflated balloon rolled its way to her leg, and Sana stood after she picked it up, getting ready to throw it to a bunch of kids, but was met with 2 adults looking at her with eyes filled with expectations instead. She fake-complained as she got dragged to the water, Chaeyoung insisting that they had found something weird in the water. 

Of course, she played along and faked thinking a plastic bag was a jellyfish (the planet is dying, throw your shit somewhere else like in a trashcan, you idiot) - of course, she let herself being pulled into the water and, of course, she had fun. She even found an incredibly big shell when her knees hit the ground, jumping out of the water with a victorious yell, Dahyun and Chaeyoung stopping for a moment before snapping out and immediately attacking Sana again. 

Momo joined them with a bucket, courtesy of a mother than had been watching over them as her child slept, exhausted by the outdoors activities. Their little water fight turned into a hunt, Chaeyoung turning into a hero for the kids, grabbing crabs as if they were nothing and throwing them in the bucket. Dahyun got scolded for putting a poisonous seastar near the poor little fish a kid had gave them - but saved Momo from stepping on a real jellyfish, and it was forgotten. 

They enjoyed an icecream as the sunlight slowly began to dim, the sky turning into a light shade of orange, close to Chaeyoung’s hair color this time, Dahyun joking about how the two of them could recreate the scenery. The two began to whisper to themselves as they walked along the sea trail, Sana and Momo following behind. 

“Remind me again what flavor you picked ?” the latter asked, giving her own chocolate cream a lick.

“Watermelon, why ?”

“I don’t know, I just found it surprising. It’s not a taste you usually go for.” 

Sana felt herself blush as she remembered exactly why she had picked it. Nothing more than that ridiculous glint in Chaeyoung’s eyes as she looked at her when the seller told them they had the fruit as the flavor. She didn’t even ask her to pick it - but the fact that the girl had remembered such an insignificant detail as the candy’s flavor from their serious evening talk together meant a lot. 

“Tastes good.”

Momo gave her a shoulder shrug, and they fell back into a comfortable silence. 

They spent the rest of the evening at their hotel, Chaeyoung jumping on the bed with as much energy as if she had slept all day. They decided to try the restaurant there, Dahyun managing to pay for it only because she distracted Sana with a trick - a magic one, she was sure. They found themselves alone when Momo slipped away with Chaeyoung, eager to try the dance floor of the bar a few steps away from the hotel. 

Cicadas can be really loud. 

It was, for some reason, the only thing Sana could focus on. There was a faint smell of cigarettes floating around, the thumping of the music from the bar making the floor under their feet shake slightly - her attention slowly shifted to Dahyun humming the lyrics, and her gaze got lost in the forever splashing waves crashing in the sand a few meters away. It wasn’t dark yet, a blazing red sun refusing to say goodbye yet, the water reflecting its light in a beautiful, shining way. 

Sana let out a sigh, a contented and relaxed one, letting her legs stretch in front of her. She really needed that trip, after all. Sun, good food and friends could be the solution to all her problems, maybe. She blinked - nah, let’s not go that far. 

Dahyun had fallen quiet by her side, observing the people around with an amused smile. She was tapping her fingers to the rhythm of the music on the table, something Sana could find annoying, but caught herself doing the same as she stared down at her friend’s fingers. 

“Sana.” 

“Hm ?” Dahyun had a serious face on now, she was getting ready for some hard facts. 

“So… shrimps aren’t bigger than us ?” 

Sana’s fingers stopped tapping on the table - she followed Dahyun’s eyes to a plate on the table next to them. She felt a laughter bubble up in her chest, but did her best to suppress it, wrapping her hands around her empty glass. What was it with the magical girls always asking her the randomest questions about the dumbest things ? 

“No, not that we know of, who told you that ?”

It was entirely satisfying to see the blue haired girl try to hide her blush behind her hands, sulking on her chair, when she had been acting so composed so far, brows narrowing as she sheepishly muttered something about Chaeyoung convincing her that shrimps were monsters hiding in the depths of the ocean.   
Which explained why she had looked so confused when they were handled the menu earlier.

This time, Sana didn’t hesitate to laugh, Dahyun disappearing more and more behind her hair. 

“Come on, now, you two used to impress me, with your magic and all, but you look like 2 kids who haven’t seen anything about the world yet..!” 

“We’ve been stuck inside for a while.”

“Well, I can understand that, but you told me you could bring anything inside. How about books ? a laptop, with internet to check your facts, maybe ? or is Chaeyoung that much of a devil that she fully convinced you ?” 

Dahyun simply grunted, looking at Sana with a rude stare, cheeks still very red but a smile ghosting over her lips. Sana found it very cute, so she teased her a bit more, grabbing a shrimp’s head from her own finished plate, moving it around - the waiter coming for their table stopped her, and it was her turn to feel embarrassed when she almost threw it in his face. 

They got out of the restaurant, Sana paying for a pack of beer in the convenience store in front of the bar, as they planned to go sit in the sand to enjoy the last moments of the sunsets with Chaeyoung and Momo. She gave it to Dahyun, who went looking for a nice spot, before heading for the crowded place on the other side of the street. 

The music was getting louder and louder as Sana got closer - she made her way through sweaty bodies, eyes on the lookout for her friends, ready to run for bright orange hair. And she did, easily find said hair, but nothing happened quickly at all. 

It felt more like slow motion, actually. 

Chaeyoung was moving to the beat in the center, hair shifting like actual flames under a few curious stares - everything around her seemed to float, and maybe that was what made the scene look so slow. Eyes closed, skin already tanned from the afternoon under the sun, unmissable silver earrings moving with their owner, it seemed Sana had just met some kind of goddess as light brown eyes opened and landed on her. 

Maybe… maybe she actually was a demon or something, a magical beast capable of seducing whoever got to close to her grip. Sana would not mind being a prey one bit. 

The air felt like fire as Chaeyoung got closer, but a cold hand on her shoulder pulled her away from the breathtaking sight. 

“Are we leaving ?” A content looking Momo asked, hand still on Sana’s shoulder who had trouble making out what was really happening around her, convinced that it had been a hallucination. 

“Y-yeah. Uh, sunset ?”

“Sure ! Chaeyoung’s already here, let’s go !” 

The short girl appeared on her other side, grinning at them before taking a step ahead to get back to Dahyun, who didn’t miss trying the same dumb stunt as the teenage boys a bit further - cracking the can open and drinking from the hole instead of the supposed opening. She managed to do it cleanly, and Sana knew magic had involved, once again. 

She quietly observed as the girl showed how to do it to Momo. A real mess. 

She felt a breeze pass by her as she handed another can to Chaeyoung, but quickly noticed there wasn’t wind anywhere, and gasped when she turned around, reaching for the short girl’s hand as she pulled her down, the space between her crossed legs and the sand being a bit too much for a normal human. 

“Hey, come on, control yourself a bit-” 

“ ‘Control yourself’ ? What’s the matter with you ?” Chaeyoung snapped, tearing her hand away from Sana’s grip. “Let me fly in peace, damn it ! no one can see us here anyway, why do you keep acting like you don’t want other people to discover about magic ?” 

“What ?” 

“You’re not the only one who knows about this - we’re not your little secret ! if you tell someone I can float using magic, either they’ll brush it off, or believe and just welcome magic into their life too ! you can’t keep acting worried every time Dahyun or I use our powers !” 

Chaeyoung stood up, kicking her beer can over, the liquid quickly merging into the sand. 

“But I never - I don’t, I never intended to hide anything !” Sana was getting worried, side eyeing Momo getting closer, curious about the shouting, and the few people around that were paying more mind to them. 

“See ! look at me !” Chaeyoung snapped her fingers. “You’re scared. This is ridiculous, I’m leaving.” it only took her a few steps and the usual smoke layer for her to disappear from their sight. 

Sana didn’t know what to do. She could feel Dahyun and Momo’s eyes on her back, but couldn’t bring herself to turn around. What had she done ? had she been that bad about hiding magic these past days ? did Chaeyoung think she didn’t trust them ?

\--

“Dahyun didn’t need to explain the situation to me.” 

Sana looked down at her feet under the water, the blue liquid of the pool shining strongly under the lights around her. she had left the beach in a hurry, reaching for their hotel, not feeling like facing either Momo or Dahyun after what had happened. what would her friend think ? what would Dahyun, who was also part of the contract, assume, now ? 

“What do you mean ?” 

“I mean exactly what you understand, Sana. I'm aware about the circles on your wrists, about what these two can do, about magic. I noticed.” she sat down, legs dangling at the edge of the pool. “I’m not blind. Chaeyoung has been floating around me since we met, and I heard you speak with her back at our flat. I hoped you would introduce her then, but… she got a bit startled too, I believe, but I think she wanted to show herself.” 

“Uh, then… you… magic ?”

“Pretty damn cool, uh ? she showed me some tricks on our way to the bar. And you don’t think I thought you had gone to the hairdresser for your pink dye, do you ?” Sana stared at Momo, dumbfounded. “You seem to struggle to understand them a bit. I, too, but really, they look like nothing more than kids who can’t face the world alone, sometimes. You need to help them as much as they help you, and I think you have done a pretty good job so far.” 

“I messed up with Chaeyoung-” 

“Not really. It wasn’t very… smart of you to suggest she can’t tell when she’s floating, but she got mad quite easily. You have to apologize to each other.” Momo gave her a thumbs up, but Sana was only getting more nervous. 

What if she had really hurt Chaeyoung ? she supposed the only way to know was to ask, and she accompanied Momo back to their room before going down to the beach, hand hovering above her right wrist, golden circle glowing in the dark. 

She bit her lip as her feet dipped under the sand, step by step. She let the water reach her ankles as she stood there, the town behind her still lively, offering cheerful background noises that slowly calmed her down. Her fingers slowly brushed her wrist - she closed her eyes. 

A splash, the strawberry scent again.

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO PLEASE READ LAST NOTE ! got tired of writing this and I'm taking a break from it bc its not going in the direction I wanted BUT I CANT WASTE 11K WORDS LIKE THAT !!!! so I posted it but will only update if people want it. thank you owo 
> 
> See you next time ! (currently working on MIHYUN and SAMOCHAENG)  
> My twitter @ is cryingtoast1, tho i don’t post much more than my drawings and other fics fkhjdgjhf bye


End file.
